As a younger man I was always skeptical of biographical movies because you always know how they end. Since then, my thoughts on entertainment have evolved somewhat as to what makes a movie entertaining. That same qualifier has never existed for books, even when it came to children’s literature. The Music Inside Us is the story of world-renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma. It’s a safe bet most elementary school ages don’t know Yo-Yo Ma, much less what a cello is or can isolate its deep, soul searching sounds were they to hear it. As an illustrated book, The Music Inside Us is not a typical biography. Instead, it opens the book by asking a question about the purpose of music. This soft introduction works in partnership with the art that is realistic, painted, and muted in all the right ways.
For adults, the key to the book is its title. The Music Inside Us is as much about the ‘us’, or people reading the book, as it is about the most famous cellist in the world. The book does follow Yo-Yo Ma’s life. He spent his early childhood in Paris, practicing with his sister Yeou-Cheng when he was four and she was nine. She played the violin and the piano, his father played the violin, his mother sang, but he wanted to play something large.
When Yo-Yo was five years old the siblings started performing for audiences. At seven years old the family moved to the United States where Yo-Yo met famous musicians. This series of connections led him and his sister to perform on television in front of JFK. How does a seven-year-old kid process all of this? He’s a Chinese national, but has lived in Paris for most of his life, now lives in New York and is being recognized by people within his industry as a prodigy. That’s a lot to process for any person, regardless of their age.
As an illustrated book, this is all standard stuff, but it’s here where the critical thinking aspects of it present themselves. Higher thinking questions about what music means or why it matters to anyone are asked inside of the narrative story. These questions or observations don’t happen often, but when they do the font is different and larger, making it stand out.
When Yo-Yo was a teen, he was a sought-after performer, but he turned down the invitations. His father wisely insisted that he continue practicing. Even though he was already being compared to legendary players and composers, he minimizes the number of performances that he did. He went to music camp and even decided to go to college. To me, this would be akin to a young Elon Musk going to engineering school after successfully launching Tesla. You should be teaching the classes, not going to them.
Yo-Yo wanted to learn about life. As a prodigy who had spent his entire life in the spotlight he wanted to think about his role in where he fits in. He played ancient pieces of music. He played regional pieces of music. He would play music for groups of children, television shows, online meetings and more.
Playing the cello is his gift. Yo-Yo realized his gift was that, but in meeting so many people he discovered that everyone has a gift. The book’s exit question for the carpet-time crowd is: how can you use your gift to make the world a better place?
There are many musically related questions that The Music Inside Us asks. However, when it breaks that fourth wall they aren’t all instrument-based. Let’s go back to the exit question, apply it to anything that any kid could do. Now, let’s all of this in the hands of a skilled read aloud person who can really make those carpet-time kids think. It’s the end of the day and all those wiggly, short-attention span kids can think of is going home. Why not play some Yo-Yo Ma, read this book aloud and engage them on what they do well? It’s an example of over-the-top teaching that can introduce kids to a musical legend, but has the opportunity for advanced self-reflection, as well as, confidence building 101.
The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma & His Gifts to the World is written by James Howe with illustrations by Jack Wong and is available on Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Abrams Books.
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